Why are computer tech jobs paying so low?

[Arkitech]

I've been seeing a disturbing trend in IT for awhile now, it seems that many tech jobs are paying lower and lower. Most customer service reps and in some cases cashiers can make as much if not more than a PC tech. I know that computers are getting cheaper all the time, but even still it's sad to see technical jobs like this paying close to the minimum wage mark.



http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/csr/2347002901.html - Customer Service Rep - 16-18 per hr
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/lab/2356660847.html - Landscapers 10-12 per hr
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/csr/2347702625.html - Call Center Rep - 12 per hr



http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/tch/2356109164.html - PC Repair 10-12 per hr
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/tch/2348779730.html - A+ Tech - 12 per hr

 

[Gibson486]

.....A+ tech....12/hr? That is over paid if you ask me.

What do you expect? fixing a pc is no longer something that is puzzling.

 

[Arkitech]

.....A+ tech....12/hr? That is over paid if you ask me.

how so?

 

[Modelworks]

Having worked as a kid for landscapers installing sprinkler systems, $12 /hr is the one that should be complaining, that is tough work. $12/hr for a tech is about right. All depends on the job being performed and the persons knowledge. I have met pc techs that I wouldn't pay minimum wage.

 

[bignateyk]

Because people with computer and IT skills are a dime a dozen.

 

[TheVrolok]

Computer tech work is no longer the esoteric art that it used to be, I don't honestly see why it should be making any more than any other basic repair work.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

PC techs are also known as swap monkey's. There's nothing challenging about swapping out a defective card or memory module. There's also nothing complex about reloading an OS which is what most "PC Techs" do to fix software issues.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Computer tech work is no longer the esoteric art that it used to be, I don't honestly see why it should be making any more than any other basic repair work.

You'd be surprised at how many people are completely mistified by computers. Even young people. It's still "geeky" to know how to work on them.

 

[Saint Nick]

I have considered this a lot since around 2009 when I graduated. Those are jobs, but positions like "business analyst" and "programmer analyst" are more like careers.

In my opinion, the help desk jobs are great for guys just graduating high school because it gets their feet wet into the IT world. I think most of us in IT now worked a PC tech gig at one point or another (for instance, I was at Geek Squad). And really, TBH, that jobs paired with my major really helped me land my first major internship.

 

[TheVrolok]

You'd be surprised at how many people are completely mistified by computers. Even young people. It's still "geeky" to know how to work on them.

Of course there are still many "non-computer people" in the world, but compared to 10 years ago, there are VASTLY more "computer" people and recreational "techs."

 

[gorcorps]

because there's millions of you

 

[imagoon]

Because people with computer and IT skills are a dime a dozen.

Funny, we have trouble finding IT skilled people that are not complete idiots. Even "computer skills" can be a challenge.

The reason "PC Tech" is that low is as many above have mentioned, there isn't a lot of challenge making a desktop run. Swapping parts etc.

"IT Skills" is also a very wide field. Your example sentence here is about the same as saying: "Because people with legal skills are a dime a dozen." Do you mean the lawyers? The paralegals? Or maybe it is the court stenographer. IT people that actually design, build and implement the systems that you use every day make a lot more money than a PC tech. Bonus points if that "IT guy" has any business sense.

"IT skills" is often slapped on a resume because the people reading the resume have no more clue what that means then the person who put it there. "Oh Good, this secretary has IT SKILLS! (Has used Word before..)

 

[rudder]

.....A+ tech....12/hr? That is over paid if you ask me.

What do you expect? fixing a pc is no longer something that is puzzling.

When you had to move jumpers on a card to not have IRQ conflicts... it was still not that puzzling. Plus there was a time when it was worth your while to spend $30-40 replacing a fried component on a motherboard... now it is cheaper to replace the whole motherboard. being a tech is not what is used to be.

 

[Texashiker]

Why are computer tech jobs paying so low?

Maybe because the market is flooded?

For well over a decade companies have pushed how great tech jobs are, so everyone and their brother and sister are now working in IT. For example, back in the 1990s, Microsoft was cranking put microsoft certified systems engineers (MCSE) by the college load. In the town where I went to college, more people were completing the microsoft and cisco programs then the local job market could support.

Its like anything else, when the market becomes flooded, wages go down.

being a tech is not what is used to be.

True. There used to be a time when being a tech required skill and knowledge.

Today, anyone with a newegg account calls themself a computer tech.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I sincerely believe this is 100% due to the bootcamp-style certification classes that were popular up until a few years ago

The market is incredibly flooded with people that appear extremely qualified who are a horrible fit for 'IT' type roles

The result is helpdesk and entry level positions get absolutely overwhelmed by these applicants who drive wages lower and lower


Your links show entry level pc tech desktop type support positions.. It's basically a 'break/fix' job. $12/hr sounds exactly right to me.

A+ means just about nothing pay-wise, it will only help you get an interview.

Certs mean NOTHING without experience. Actually, IMO people with certs but no experience are a huge huge gamble.. Most of them have no clue what they're doing and should not be in IT.






The only way to make decent money in general IT roles (desktop, net admin, sys admin, etc etc) is with experience. Certs, school, etc is not a valid substitute.

 

[sourceninja]

Seems about right to me. We frequently supplement our PC support staff with college work studies who make minimum wage. It takes about a week of training to get them up to speed with a proper escalation path to a "real tech".

 

[ViviTheMage]

hardware monkey's are a dime a dozen ... most of the hardware work we do, we just use our 3 year completecare warranties through dell.

 

[Saint Nick]

I sincerely believe this is 100% due to the bootcamp-style certification classes that were popular up until a few years ago

The market is incredibly flooded with people that appear extremely qualified who are a horrible fit for 'IT' type roles

The result is helpdesk and entry level positions get absolutely overwhelmed by these applicants who drive wages lower and lower


Your links show entry level pc tech desktop type support positions.. It's basically a 'break/fix' job. $12/hr sounds exactly right to me.

A+ means just about nothing pay-wise, it will only help you get an interview.

Certs mean NOTHING without experience. Actually, IMO people with certs but no experience are a huge huge gamble.. Most of them have no clue what they're doing and should not be in IT.






The only way to make decent money in general IT roles (desktop, net admin, sys admin, etc etc) is with experience. Certs, school, etc is not a valid substitute.

Yup, pretty much expanded my point. Good post.

 

[PingSpike]

I think people are looking at this the wrong way. There are a lot of "PC repair techs" out there now, of varying quality...probably mostly poor due to the money situation. But there are also way more computers out there than in the past, so the "there's just to many of them" theory doesn't really jive because there are more units to work on as well as more techs.

Here's what it is: PCs are cheap as hell. It just doesn't make any sense to pay some one much money to repair a PC now. After you crap it up (and new systems are better at defending against users crapping them up) you just throw it in the trash and buy a new one for $300, which your average user wanted to do anyway because they love new things. Thus there isn't much demand for the work anymore. Back when PCs cost thousands of dollars it made sense to repair them or fix/reinstall the OS, now it doesn't.

Users are just as stupid as they ever were, the PCs are just easier to use and cheaper to replace. I used to love (I now find it a chore) working on PCs, but honestly its a semi useless skill. Working on cars is far more valuable, since those have gotten MORE expensive.

 

[alkemyst]

.....A+ tech....12/hr? That is over paid if you ask me.

What do you expect? replacing parts and reinstalling the OS is no longer something that is puzzling.

True PC tech is hard to find and needed in business.

One of the problems with wages though is too many people are living at home and willing to take these ridiculous salaries.

 

[Texashiker]

I sincerely believe this is 100% due to the bootcamp-style certification classes that were popular up until a few years ago

When I was taking my computer classes at the local college back in the late 1990s, the college setup a series of crash courses. We went something like 3 or 4 nights a week, for 3 hours per night. Instead of a class taking 4 months, we did a class every 3 - 4 weeks. Between January - May, we covered NT 4 workstation, NT 4 Server, IIS, introduction to Cisco routers, and Microsoft TCP/IP. We spent enough time in the class room to get a college credit for the class, and in a fraction of the time it normally took.

I do not know if the college still has those crash courses, but if they have kept up that pace over the past 10 years, that is a lot of students put through the doors.

Personally, I never did like the way that microsoft did its MCSE program. How can you call someone a certified engineer with no real hands on experience. All they were trained to do was repeat what the text book said, with no independent thought or opinion.

 

[alkemyst]

I think people are looking at this the wrong way. There are a lot of "PC repair techs" out there now, of varying quality...probably mostly poor due to the money situation. But there are also way more computers out there than in the past, so the "there's just to many of them" theory doesn't really jive because there are more units to work on as well as more techs.

Here's what it is: PCs are cheap as hell. It just doesn't make any sense to pay some one much money to repair a PC now. After you crap it up (and new systems are better at defending against users crapping them up) you just throw it in the trash and buy a new one for $300, which your average user wanted to do anyway because they love new things. Thus there isn't much demand for the work anymore. Back when PCs cost thousands of dollars it made sense to repair them or fix/reinstall the OS, now it doesn't.

Users are just as stupid as they ever were, the PCs are just easier to use and cheaper to replace. I used to love (I now find it a chore) working on PCs, but honestly its a semi useless skill. Working on cars is far more valuable, since those have gotten MORE expensive.

As nice as that idea sounds most don't want to just buy a new PC. They don't want to learn something new and they don't know how to move their data and all their programs.

They also worry about disposing of the old PC.

I have recommended new PC's many times only to have a person spend as much in parts to keep their old one.

 

[BTA]

Honestly, when has a pc tech job ever paid more than $12/hr? Hell I would have loved to make that much when I was young and doing it.

It's an entry level position, always has been.

 

[gorcorps]

I sincerely believe this is 100% due to the bootcamp-style certification classes that were popular up until a few years ago

The market is incredibly flooded with people that appear extremely qualified who are a horrible fit for 'IT' type roles

The result is helpdesk and entry level positions get absolutely overwhelmed by these applicants who drive wages lower and lower


Your links show entry level pc tech desktop type support positions.. It's basically a 'break/fix' job. $12/hr sounds exactly right to me.

A+ means just about nothing pay-wise, it will only help you get an interview.

Certs mean NOTHING without experience. Actually, IMO people with certs but no experience are a huge huge gamble.. Most of them have no clue what they're doing and should not be in IT.






The only way to make decent money in general IT roles (desktop, net admin, sys admin, etc etc) is with experience. Certs, school, etc is not a valid substitute.

At some point though you have to pick up somebody with no experience. Everybody starts out with zero experience at some point in their life, and if nobody hired them you'd end up with nobody in the field with any experience and a bunch of old fucks with all the know-how retiring and dying off.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

At some point though you have to pick up somebody with no experience. Everybody starts out with zero experience at some point in their life, and if nobody hired them you'd end up with nobody in the field with any experience and a bunch of old fucks with all the know-how retiring and dying off.

Absolutely you're right...

My point is really that I place more value in someone with little to no experience and no certs than someone with little to no experience but 3-4 certs.

I've found that these IT people with certs but no experience are actually MORE of a risk than people with no certs. They tend to "think" they really know what they're doing and risk much much more than someone who recognizes that the first 4-5 years of corporate IT is a teething experience.


It all seems obvious right? Except these guys with little no experience and a few certs seem to think they deserve 60k starting salary as helpdesk because that's how things were 10 years ago. They don't realize that certs by themselves mean absolutely nothing and properly training these people to function in a 'real' IT environment can be incredibly tough.


And they do get hired.... just takes awhile until they accept that $12/hr position the OP is bitching about and then they burn out before their feet are even wet.